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Linda Norgrove, 36, died during a failed rescue attempt by US forces after she was seized by militants in the war-ravaged country.

The Scot was kidnapped by militants in the Dewagal valley in Kunar province on September 26.

Three local staff were taken with her when the cars they were travelling in were ambushed. The staff were released unharmed but Ms Norgrove was killed during the rescue mission on October 8.

It was initially thought her captors had killed her during the rescue attempt but evidence suggests a US grenade may be to blame.

A former United Nations employee, Ms Norgrove was working for the firm Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) at the time of her kidnap. Based in Jalalabad, she supervised reconstruction programmes in the eastern region of Afghanistan funded by the US government.

Her remit covered work to build roads, bridges and markets, repair irrigation systems and install hydro-electric systems in villages.

Born in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, the family moved to the Isle of Lewis where she spent her childhood. The family lived in a croft and kept cattle and other small livestock.

Her parents Lorna, 62, and John, 60, were keen on foreign travel and took the whole family for a five week trip to a developing country every second winter while she was at secondary school. The visits inspired their older daughter who went on to work in Peru and Laos as well as Afghanistan.

An inquest into her death opens at the coroner's court in Salisbury, Wiltshire.